So, I've been chewing over the Morality system in V5 recently, and I think I've now established my final take on it all. I've touched on this a little in other threads, but I thought I might put everything together in one place and just lay out my own House Rule on the whole thing.
The big picture, I like what V5 is trying to do with Morality a LOT, I just don't like exactly how it was implemented in the final design of the game. It is a system of simplistic complexity, which is something I'm generally a fan of in game design, and it views Morality more like the complex system that it is with a mix of social pressures as depicted in the Tenets and personal belief as reflected in the Convictions.
After assessing this structure, I think it is good in some ways but that it misses some thematic opportunity in other ways. So, here is the way I'm going to be approaching it from now on:
Humanity Tracker
The Humanity tracker is actually a gauge of who is more the driver of the vehicle that is the individual Kindred - the Beast (at low levels) or the Man (at high levels, and not being used in terms of sex/gender). Nothing more, nothing less. This is a big change from past Editions, sure, where Humanity was one of many individual systems of Ethics - but V5 has shifted the placement of Ethics to Convictions so that is not what Humanity is anymore. In this type of a system, one could rightfully say a Path follow might well have a high Humanity as the Path provides them a set of Ethics that allows them to keep the Beast at bay and allow what remains of the Man to be the primary driver.
Tenets
Here is where I shift a little bit, in my final view of the system, in that I don't think the best use of Tenets is to reflect the social pressures that play on Morality - it just leaves a whole lot of gray area in how this should apply to larger scale Chronicles (do Tenets change from City to City, not really Chronicle Tenets then...) and misses a thematic opportunity in that these should be reflections of the Beast and what drives you closer to it. I almost think these things should just be static (Game Tenets) more than anything, and they should be given a little more solid foothold in the mechanics of the game. Here are what I have opted to use myself now:
Convictions
Convictions work basically as they are detailed in the RAW, just codified a little bit more. If a character commits a violation of a Tenet in the name of one of their Convictions it will reduce the number of Stains they take by -1. This means some actions can be more easily reasoned away completely based on personal belief, while some more illicit actions might still require deeper justification even with personal belief backing you up by stacking multiple Convictions to further reduce the Stains incurred (2 associated Convictions will reduce Stains by -2). Belief also does not require Touchstones (we'll get to those, they still work mostly like they do, just a slight difference), and so have the ability to be lost through another means which we'll discuss.
Characters are allowed to maintain a maximum of 5 Convictions at any given time (and at character creation may still elect to start with between 1-3 in place right out of the gate). Establishing a new Conviction in game, mechanically speaking, will require 5 XP (roughly 5 sessions of play, scale as needed for your XP awarding methods). More broadly the player should engage in at least a small subplot that delves into the reason behind the manifestation of this newly held belief.
So, how does one lose their Convictions with Touchstones not being required - simple, when they're Challenged. Anytime that a character takes an action that goes against one of their present Convictions this will count as a Challenge to that Conviction. If the character's Convictions are simply Uncodified Ethics (no Touchstone or Path to protect the Conviction) use the following test where failure results in the loss of the Conviction: Resolve.
This means that having Uncodified Ethics is risky business, and so one might consider investing in Touchstones, a Path of Enlightenment, or even adopting a combination of the two.
Touchstones
Touchstones have been modified to become a Background which operates in a similar fashion to both Allies and Contacts. First of all, each Touchstone must be associated to a particular Conviction as it somehow represent the belief held by the character in some way. The rating of each Touchstone, like Contacts or Allies, allows for the individual that the Background represents to be a stronger version of the Mortal in question. This can help to make them less prone to harm, and even potentially make them valuable assets beyond the moral assurances they provide.
When a character has a Conviction Challenged that has an associated Touchstone it will add +1 to the test made to maintain their beliefs due to their anchor with which they can relate. This protection does not come without a cost, however, as if as Touchstone is Damaged or Destroyed it can have the reverse effect by strengthening the Beast (causes Stains on the Humanity tracker just like it does in the RAW).
Note that this could be tweaked further to have some more interesting overlaps with the Paths by having different Paths allow for different things to qualify as Touchstones beyond simply Mortals (which could be the defacto "default" option across the board as even the more "embracing my inhuman nature" types could have their belief reinforced by humans exhibiting similar mentalities - it is just more unlikely for them to find them). This could range from adding in other Kindred, to even things and places if we wanted to have that option available. All that would take really is adding a quick line to any of the Paths that details what options are available to them.
Paths of Enlightenment
Having strong personal beliefs is paramount to the Kindred in order to stave off the Beast lingering within them, and while any strongly held beliefs can accommodate this the absolute best method is the adoption of a Path of Enlightenment. More than just a sense of justification, as provided by a Touchstone, it grants the Kindred with an actual sense of community on a philosophical level. These are truly codified ways of viewing the unlife, and can grant a Kindred with a profound sense of being that allows them to maintain their beliefs more readily than Kindred who just have strongly held Convictions.
A Path of Enlightenment will have a rating of 0 to 5, and a Kindred may only have a single Path at any given time. Each Path will also have a set of potential Ethics (these will need to be specifically developed with this system in mind, but the basic rundowns given of the Path Ethics in the V20 Corebook work as an alright starting point for this process - I'll likely explore doing some of these myself a little later). Adopting a Path is no simple feat, however, and will require dedication on the part of the Kindred as does any true belief system.
Paths may only be acquired with Experience Points, meaning they are not available to Childer character types at character creation. They also require a viable source to learn from, be it a teacher or documentation, as these are existing and codified belief systems (one could make their own, of course, which is something I'll also likely further explore once I take care of some of the more prominent Path Ethics). Mechanically, each point in the Path Rating costs New Level x 5. Adopting the Ethics of the Paths as personal Convictions is done independently, but characters with a Path Rating may purchase the Ethics of their Path for 3 XP as opposed to the usual 5 XP for Uncodified Ethics.
The benefit of all of this is that when a character finds their Convictions Challenged, if those Convictions are backed by a Path of Enlightenment they may roll Resolve + Path Rating (+1 for any Touchstone) to help them maintain their beliefs when tested. Should the character happen to fail the test and lose their Conviction, they will face a Crisis of Faith. In this case the character immediately makes a Willpower Check where on a failure they must reduce their Path Rating by 1. Should the Crisis of Faith cause the character to lose the last point they have in their Path Rating the character has a spiritual breaking point and gains +3 Stains to their Humanity Tracker that cannot be protected by an Convictions (should the character still maintain any Uncodified Ethics).
*****
That basically covers it for anyone that happens to be interested and decides they want to take a stab at using this in their own campaigns. I haven't gotten to run this through the ringer yet, but I will be with my home group moving forward. Would love to hear what others think, and if they try it out any feedback is always welcome.
The big picture, I like what V5 is trying to do with Morality a LOT, I just don't like exactly how it was implemented in the final design of the game. It is a system of simplistic complexity, which is something I'm generally a fan of in game design, and it views Morality more like the complex system that it is with a mix of social pressures as depicted in the Tenets and personal belief as reflected in the Convictions.
After assessing this structure, I think it is good in some ways but that it misses some thematic opportunity in other ways. So, here is the way I'm going to be approaching it from now on:
Humanity Tracker
The Humanity tracker is actually a gauge of who is more the driver of the vehicle that is the individual Kindred - the Beast (at low levels) or the Man (at high levels, and not being used in terms of sex/gender). Nothing more, nothing less. This is a big change from past Editions, sure, where Humanity was one of many individual systems of Ethics - but V5 has shifted the placement of Ethics to Convictions so that is not what Humanity is anymore. In this type of a system, one could rightfully say a Path follow might well have a high Humanity as the Path provides them a set of Ethics that allows them to keep the Beast at bay and allow what remains of the Man to be the primary driver.
Tenets
Here is where I shift a little bit, in my final view of the system, in that I don't think the best use of Tenets is to reflect the social pressures that play on Morality - it just leaves a whole lot of gray area in how this should apply to larger scale Chronicles (do Tenets change from City to City, not really Chronicle Tenets then...) and misses a thematic opportunity in that these should be reflections of the Beast and what drives you closer to it. I almost think these things should just be static (Game Tenets) more than anything, and they should be given a little more solid foothold in the mechanics of the game. Here are what I have opted to use myself now:
- Letting blood propagate the Beast (Stains: Bonding [+1], Embracing [+2])
- Ending lives satiate the Beast (Stains: Manslaughter [+1], Murder [+2])
- Harming innocents amuse the Beast (Stains: Accidental [+1], Intentional [+2])
- Utter perversions empower the Beast (Stains: Ambiguous [+2], Explicit [+3])
Convictions
Convictions work basically as they are detailed in the RAW, just codified a little bit more. If a character commits a violation of a Tenet in the name of one of their Convictions it will reduce the number of Stains they take by -1. This means some actions can be more easily reasoned away completely based on personal belief, while some more illicit actions might still require deeper justification even with personal belief backing you up by stacking multiple Convictions to further reduce the Stains incurred (2 associated Convictions will reduce Stains by -2). Belief also does not require Touchstones (we'll get to those, they still work mostly like they do, just a slight difference), and so have the ability to be lost through another means which we'll discuss.
Characters are allowed to maintain a maximum of 5 Convictions at any given time (and at character creation may still elect to start with between 1-3 in place right out of the gate). Establishing a new Conviction in game, mechanically speaking, will require 5 XP (roughly 5 sessions of play, scale as needed for your XP awarding methods). More broadly the player should engage in at least a small subplot that delves into the reason behind the manifestation of this newly held belief.
So, how does one lose their Convictions with Touchstones not being required - simple, when they're Challenged. Anytime that a character takes an action that goes against one of their present Convictions this will count as a Challenge to that Conviction. If the character's Convictions are simply Uncodified Ethics (no Touchstone or Path to protect the Conviction) use the following test where failure results in the loss of the Conviction: Resolve.
This means that having Uncodified Ethics is risky business, and so one might consider investing in Touchstones, a Path of Enlightenment, or even adopting a combination of the two.
Touchstones
Touchstones have been modified to become a Background which operates in a similar fashion to both Allies and Contacts. First of all, each Touchstone must be associated to a particular Conviction as it somehow represent the belief held by the character in some way. The rating of each Touchstone, like Contacts or Allies, allows for the individual that the Background represents to be a stronger version of the Mortal in question. This can help to make them less prone to harm, and even potentially make them valuable assets beyond the moral assurances they provide.
When a character has a Conviction Challenged that has an associated Touchstone it will add +1 to the test made to maintain their beliefs due to their anchor with which they can relate. This protection does not come without a cost, however, as if as Touchstone is Damaged or Destroyed it can have the reverse effect by strengthening the Beast (causes Stains on the Humanity tracker just like it does in the RAW).
Note that this could be tweaked further to have some more interesting overlaps with the Paths by having different Paths allow for different things to qualify as Touchstones beyond simply Mortals (which could be the defacto "default" option across the board as even the more "embracing my inhuman nature" types could have their belief reinforced by humans exhibiting similar mentalities - it is just more unlikely for them to find them). This could range from adding in other Kindred, to even things and places if we wanted to have that option available. All that would take really is adding a quick line to any of the Paths that details what options are available to them.
Paths of Enlightenment
Having strong personal beliefs is paramount to the Kindred in order to stave off the Beast lingering within them, and while any strongly held beliefs can accommodate this the absolute best method is the adoption of a Path of Enlightenment. More than just a sense of justification, as provided by a Touchstone, it grants the Kindred with an actual sense of community on a philosophical level. These are truly codified ways of viewing the unlife, and can grant a Kindred with a profound sense of being that allows them to maintain their beliefs more readily than Kindred who just have strongly held Convictions.
A Path of Enlightenment will have a rating of 0 to 5, and a Kindred may only have a single Path at any given time. Each Path will also have a set of potential Ethics (these will need to be specifically developed with this system in mind, but the basic rundowns given of the Path Ethics in the V20 Corebook work as an alright starting point for this process - I'll likely explore doing some of these myself a little later). Adopting a Path is no simple feat, however, and will require dedication on the part of the Kindred as does any true belief system.
Paths may only be acquired with Experience Points, meaning they are not available to Childer character types at character creation. They also require a viable source to learn from, be it a teacher or documentation, as these are existing and codified belief systems (one could make their own, of course, which is something I'll also likely further explore once I take care of some of the more prominent Path Ethics). Mechanically, each point in the Path Rating costs New Level x 5. Adopting the Ethics of the Paths as personal Convictions is done independently, but characters with a Path Rating may purchase the Ethics of their Path for 3 XP as opposed to the usual 5 XP for Uncodified Ethics.
The benefit of all of this is that when a character finds their Convictions Challenged, if those Convictions are backed by a Path of Enlightenment they may roll Resolve + Path Rating (+1 for any Touchstone) to help them maintain their beliefs when tested. Should the character happen to fail the test and lose their Conviction, they will face a Crisis of Faith. In this case the character immediately makes a Willpower Check where on a failure they must reduce their Path Rating by 1. Should the Crisis of Faith cause the character to lose the last point they have in their Path Rating the character has a spiritual breaking point and gains +3 Stains to their Humanity Tracker that cannot be protected by an Convictions (should the character still maintain any Uncodified Ethics).
*****
That basically covers it for anyone that happens to be interested and decides they want to take a stab at using this in their own campaigns. I haven't gotten to run this through the ringer yet, but I will be with my home group moving forward. Would love to hear what others think, and if they try it out any feedback is always welcome.
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